N. Ray Hawk, former University administrator and Eugene city councilor, passed away Sunday from age-related causes. He was 88.
Memorial services are pending.
Born and raised in Oregon, Hawk held a wide variety of positions in his 32 years at the University, including acting president. He was also a city councilor from 1962 through 1966, the year when he was council president.
He was named Outstanding Alumnus by the University’s Alumni Association in 2000 and was selected as Eugene First Citizen in 1992.
After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, now the Air Force, during World War II, Hawk came to the University in 1950 as the dean of men.
He later served as assistant to the University president, dean of administration and vice president for administration and finance. His vice presidency began in 1971 and lasted through his retirement in late 1982.
He spent the summer of 1969 as acting University president after the death of Charles Johnson in an automobile accident. During his career at the University, he served under six presidents.
University President Dave Frohnmayer said Hawk’s extensive experience in administration helped him become a modern-day legend.
“He had more than a half century of service to the University in a variety of highly placed roles,” he said. “He’s really one of the giants of modern UO history. He was part of every significant administrative action literally for decades.”
Ronald Hawk, 48, one of Ray’s three sons, said his father most enjoyed his time as dean of men, a position that allowed him to discuss personal and academic problems with male students.
“He won a ton of awards, but his biggest thing was helping a lot of these younger guys after post-World War II,” he said. “He had a real strong military background, and I think that’s a reason why he was hired.”
Phyllis Hawk, Ray’s widow, said he had lasting effects on the lives of the young men who sought his counsel.
“He never raised his voice at people, and he was willing to listen,” she said. “(The men) would listen to Ray. They wouldn’t listen to their parents.”
Frohnmayer said the returning World War II veterans of Hawk’s day “needed a different kind of student affairs person.”
“He brought a very mature kind of leadership to the administration,” Frohnmayer said.
Ray also served the University during the turbulent Vietnam-protest era. He faced many tough challenges during the time, but Ronald said his father’s compassion and communicating skills helped him persevere.
“Dad had threats against his life … it was a pretty turbulent time,” he said. “But he had the ability to deal with CEO types all the way down to the common man. He was a great leader and motivator of people.”
In addition to his contribution to the University, Ray also performed a great deal of civic service. He served as city councilor during a time that saw the construction of Eugene’s City Hall and the extensive renovation of downtown urban buildings.
Ray also served as chairman of United Way and served on the boards of the YMCA, the Lane Memorial Blood Bank and the Learning in Retirement Council.
Ray was born in Butte Falls, a small community near Ashland, on April 14, 1918. He attended an Ashland high school and enrolled in the Southern Oregon Normal School, now Southern Oregon University, where he met Phyllis and received a teaching certificate.
He married Phyllis in 1939, two years after graduating from Southern Oregon.
Soon after, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps and served alongside British troops in Northern Africa during World War II. As the war progressed, Ray was promoted to the rank of colonel and served as a general’s aide in Paris.
When the war ended, Ray returned home to see his wife and his first child, Ken, who was born while he was at war. He enrolled at the University of Oregon and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history in 1947 and 1948, respectively. He earned a doctorate in education in 1949.
Ray was an avid history fan. Frohnmayer said Ray wrote a private history of the University for the Hawk family and would often write Frohnmayer relaying facts and short stories of the University’s past.
“You might be opening your mail, and there’d be a letter from Ray identifying some University history or some anecdote,” Frohnmayer said.
He also loved travel, relatives said. Ronald Hawk said his father had traveled to about 99 countries and particularly loved going to Japan.
“He was a really big history buff … and loved to immerse himself in the cultures of the places he went to,” he said.
In addition to Phyllis and Ronald, N. Ray Hawk is survived by his two other sons, William Hawk of Sherwood and Ken Hawk of Eugene, and seven grandchildren.
Hawk’s family has suggested contributions in his memory be made to the University of Oregon Foundation or to the Duck Athletic Fund.